Shuttle XPC SZ170R8 V2: Small but Powerful

Compact, efficient and incredibly powerful if you spring for the right parts, the Shuttle XPS SZ170R8 V2 has a lot going for it. The small form factor of the motherboard does not take away from its power. Even better is its capability as a portable machine.

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Student Council Presidents are usually those student leaders who are well-organized and have natural leadership skills. There are a lot of anime characters who have the traits to become an excellent Student Council President, so Charapedia asked which characters would make the best one. 10,000 people (46.2% male, 53.7% female) all voted for a total of...

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The former vice president of sales and marketing at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company will oversee Acer’s turnaround beginning January 1st.

Acer has had a turbulent year, as have other manufacturers in the notebook segment. Its last CEO and chairman J.T. Wang resigned in November citing poor sales and losses of $446 million in the third quarter. It was reported earlier that Jim Wong, president of Acer, would assume the role of CEO, but two weeks after the announcement, Acer released a statement that Wong will be resigning, and that founder Stan Shih would be coming out of retirement to take over the role of president and interim CEO.

Acer today announced that Jason Chen has been selected as CEO, and that he would be starting from January 1, 2014. Chen was vice president of sales and marketing for chipmaker TSMC, and worked at Intel and IBM prior to TSMC. Stan Shih mentioned that Chen would be the ideal executive to bring about a transformation at Acer.

That transformation includes a shift of focus from the notebook segment to cloud services. Acer is also looking to gain a more significant foothold in the mobile segment, and will launch a host of budget devices that are targeted at emerging markets. The Taiwanese manufacturer hasn’t fared any better in the tablet segment as well with the Iconia series, and this is an area that Acer will be looking to rectify in 2014.

Acer is also looking to trim costs by downsizing. The manufacturer announced that it would be restructuring to save around $100 million, and that 560 jobs will be cut across its global divisions in 2014.